Trim water supply for cabbage

Harvesting cabbage that started to split during the hot weather has yielded unpleasant “gunk” where I cut the head from the leaf base. It requires peeling off a lot of leaves to finally have a clean head of cabbage to take into the house. Even though the damaged leaves go into our compost, it is a waste of otherwise tasty cabbage. At first I thought the “goo” was residue from deceased cabbage loopers I’d treated with BT. Most recently (after the weather cooled a bit) slugs and earwigs were exposed. How can I get rid of them without poisoning us?

Now back to dinner with steamed cabbage and coleslaw. Thanks for your help and interesting articles.

Sherri Crisp

The “goo” is more likely caused by overhead irrigation water seeping down to the base of the plant and then causing the cabbage to rot. To keep cabbages from splitting, cut down on the water as the heads reach full size or prune half the roots to slow water uptake. If slugs are present, try an iron phosphate-based slug bait. It is nontoxic to other critters and humans. Earwigs – see the next answer.

When should I stop watering?

We’re growing some vegetables this year – garlic, corn and potatoes. How do I know when to stop watering them as it nears harvest time?

I’ve heard that young trees should be watered deeply every couple of weeks, rather than often and shallow, because of root rot. If this is accurate, how do you differentiate between a plant (more frequent watering) and a tree (less frequent)? Also, in which category are the following classified: rose bushes, berry bushes and forsythia?

Earwigs – good bug or bad bug? I’ve noticed them in my corn ears. Should I get rid of them or leave them? Also, for fun, are they called earwigs because of the corn ears? I always thought it had to do with animal ears.

Kim Taylor

Most vegetable crops need water right through harvest. You can halve the watering on garlic and potatoes when the tops start to die back. Corn will need a good amount of water right up until harvest.

Young trees and shrubs need a deep soaking every couple of weeks because their root systems are usually deeper than most irrigation systems are set for. Root rot is not an issue unless the plant ends up in standing water. So water your shrubs and trees using a soaker hose or slow-running hose on a timer. For small trees and shrubs, including the bushes you mention, set it for an hour or two; for large plants, three or four hours or even overnight.

Earwigs are scavengers that eat whatever they can find in the garden. They rarely do a lot of damage to plants. I usual just cut off the tip of the ear of corn and don’t worry about it. They like to hide in dark, moist places during the day, so cultivate around where you see them and clean up debris they can hide in.

They get their name from the old myth that they crawled in peoples’ ears while they slept.